Lest anyone should think I am forever pensive and over thoughtful in poses like this, I enclose a music clip that I have enjoyed over the years. Though I confess, I am writing this at 6 in the morning and listening to William Byrd's Mass for Four Voices: Kyrie which I adore and which echoes the silence and the peace in this quiet house at this time of the day. The clip below is an evening clip - best played loud at around 8pm just as you pour a glass of wine, which I did last night as it blared out of my laptop. The news from Haiti is bad and every now and then we have to remind ourselves that we are, indeed, happy - and there has to be that balance. Not ignoring the troubles elsewhere but acknowledging how lucky we are. Which is why I hate the "grumpy old man" idea that permeates through our culture - there is even a television show, which I would never watch (how can it be entertaining). Basho, Matsuo (1644-1694) wrote this haiku and the one permanence all over the world is the moon. A morning moon for me, at this time of day, can still be seen down under in their evening and i love that idea. And this seems to grasp the Haiti nettle too. Clouds appear
and bring to men a chance to rest
from looking at the moon.
We are lucky we can look at the moon with a smile - and while the occasional cloud will obscure our view it is only to give us respite, a time to reflect and to listen and to give... life's been good to me.
